Not Quite Utopia
by eukaryote
Summary: Set in the summer of 1899 when Albus Dumbledore is 17 - 18 years old. This story will start with Albus meeting Gellert and end with Gellert leaving. Albus/Gellert slash. Rated M just in case. Completed!
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfiction that I'm posting; no one's ever read anything I've written before. Personally, I think it's at best mediocre, but I've decided to post it anyway. The next chapter will probably be longer. Hope you enjoy.**

**I own nothing. **

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He knew he was awake, but he didn't want to open his eyes. He wanted to go back to sleep, knowing that sleep allowed a person blissful ignorance for a while. Opening his eyes would mean he would have to face the reality in front of him; the reality that came true last week. He pinched his eyes closed tighter.

It was no use; he could tell by the amount of light that it was late morning and he wouldn't fall back asleep. He opened his eyes to see his bedroom desk, which had several large books piled all over it. He looked at the clock in was a little past ten. He got up, and got himself ready for the day ahead.

In his opinion, the whole universe was terrible. Death was terrible because there was nothing, and life was terrible because it was a constant struggle full of pain and brief happy moments. He supposed maybe there was an afterlife where everyone is happy, but he doubted it. He did not think any kind God who gives afterlife to His children would have created such a cruel world.

By the time he went downstairs it was ten thirty.

"About time." Aberforth was scowling at him. He was lying on the floor, drawing some stupid picture. Ariana was sitting next to him. "I had to make breakfast."

"What a tragedy," Albus muttered, going toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Aberforth demanded.

Albus gritted his teeth together, but stopped walking and answered politely, "No where. I just want to walk around for a while."

"I guess it's not like you've ever been much use around here anyway," Aberforth replied. "I'm pretty sure I could – and have, for the past few weeks – take care of Ariana by myself."

"We're not having this argument again."

"What argument? I haven't started an argument."

"You're going back to school, and that's that."

Aberforth squared his jaw. "But I don't _care_ about school. I guessed on all of the tests and everything, and I hardly ever do my homework."

Albus knew the only way to end this argument was to walk out the front door, which he did.

He expected to feel better by walking around the neighborhood, but he quickly discovered that this wasn't the case. Godric's Hollow was so _boring_. It was a small neighborhood with a bunch of cute little houses and a tidy graveyard, where his mother now was buried. He felt trapped. He had worked so hard in school, gotten so many awards, because he wanted to be somebody and make a difference. Now he was stuck in this little town of half Wizards, half Muggles and he was nobody.

He began to kick a rock ahead of him and kick it again as he caught up with it, and questions began to fill his head. Why did he have to be the eldest? Why did his mother have to die? _Why_ did those stupid Muggles have to damage Ariana like that in the first place? Albus marveled at the effects those three Muggles had caused by attacking her. How the effects were still hurting him today.

He gave the rock an extra hard kick in frustration. He was startled when it suddenly hit someone's shoe. He looked up quickly. Bathilda Bagshot was looking at him, only a few feet away.

"I apologize, Mrs. Bagshot," Albus said. "I didn't see you."

Bathilda shook her head and stepped forward to speak to him properly and instantly launched into speech. "Don't be silly, Albus. You don't have to apologize. I'm very sorry about your mother. She was a fine woman."

"Thank you," Albus said passively. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been just fine," Bathilda said cheerfully. Albus could always charm her with manners. "My great-nephew is living with me now, at least for now. He was expelled from Durmstrang, which probably is all for the better _anyway_; such a dreadful school. I always wanted to insist to his parents that he attend Hogwarts, but what could I say; it wasn't my place to tell them where to send their boy. But I think he's dreadfully bored."

Albus could not say he was surprised that he was bored here, so he kept his mouth shut.

"He's about your age," Bathilda said thoughtfully. "And he's brilliant, like you. He's very bright for his age. He learned English all by himself – self-taught! And he has a perfect accent; you'd never know that English wasn't his first language, although he does trip on certain letters occasionally. I think you've taught yourself some languages yourself, having you, Albus?"

Albus nodded. "Latin, a bit of German and French, but I'm not really fluent in those two yet."

"Oh, I have an idea, why don't you meet my great-nephew, Albus? I'm _positive_ you two would get along famously."

Albus had his doubts about how brilliant Bathilda bragged he was, but he knew he had nothing better to do. It was an excuse to come home later. "Yes, of course," Albus said. "I'd love to meet him."

"Wonderful," Bathilda said enthusiastically. Fortunately, they did not have to keep up a conversation because Bathilda's house was just a few doors down.

Her house was hideously perfect, neat, and cute. Albus thought that her great-nephew was probably going crazy cooped up in this house, whoever he was.

"Gellert!" Bathilda called in a very annoying voice. She waited for several seconds but there was no reply. "Gellert, get down here! I have someone here I want you to meet!"

As if he had recognized defeat, Albus heard Gellert open a door, which was probably his bedroom door. A curly blond haired boy with deep blue eyes came down the stairs.

"Yes, Aunt Bathilda?" he asked in a perfect English accent.

"Gellert, this is Albus Dumbledore, he lives just a few blocks down. He's stuck here as well, and I think you both would have a _lot_ in common."

"Gellert Grindelwald," he said and reached out his hand.

Albus took it and felt heat creep up his neck, and he wasn't sure why. "Albus Dumbledore," he said. "Pleased to meet you." He saw Bathilda walk away out of the corner of his eye.

"Did you go to Hogwarts?" Gellert asked.

"Yes," Albus answered. "I just graduated from there."

"Lucky – that means you're at least seventeen!" Gellert said. He seemed quite extroverted. "Or are you eighteen now?"

"I'm still seventeen."

"I'm turning sixteen on second September. I was probably the oldest fifth year at Durmstrang; I was so close to being a sixth year." He scowled. "I mean, second September! Just _one_ day older and I would've been a grade up."

"But that doesn't matter anymore though," Albus said carefully. "You were expelled weren't you?" he asked, trying to not sound impolite.

Gellert rolled his eyes. "Yeah. It was stupid. Just an accident."

Albus knew it would be too prying to ask him to specify.

Bathilda called out from the kitchen that she was thinking about making spaghetti for dinner. Gellert looked at Albus embarrassedly, and Albus could tell Gellert found her extremely annoying. "Do you want to get out of here?" Gellert asked him.

"Sure, if you want," Albus said.

"Aunt Bathilda, we're going to go for a walk!" Gellert called and before she could reply, they both were out the door.

"How long have you lived here?" Gellert asked him.

"Since I was ten," Albus said. "But I hate it here."

"Yeah, it is pretty dull," Gellert said. "However, there was one exciting thing about this place that I found."


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is chapter two. I said it would be longer, and so it is, a bit. **

**Much thanks to RikkuAlaise for reviewing chapter one!**

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"_How long have you lived here?" Gellert asked him._

"_Since I was ten," Albus said. "But I hate it here."_

"_Yeah, it is pretty dull," Gellert said. "However, there was one exciting thing about this place that I found."_

"What was it?"

"Have you ever heard of the Deathly Hallows?"

Albus thought that he had heard of them somewhere, but he couldn't remember where or what he had heard about them. "Vaguely," he said.

"Well," Gellert said, "it's a tale – a legend, you might call it. A Wizarding story. And this place holds some proof that the story is at least half true."

"What's the story?"

"You ever heard of the tale of the three brothers that had an unbeatable wand, a perfect invisibility cloak, and a stone that could bring the dead back?"

"Yes," Albus said, frowning. He vaguely remembered that story. His father used to tell it to him when he was little before he went to Azkaban.

"Well, I think that one of those brothers lived here."

Albus wasn't sure if he was joking or not. "Who?" he asked.

"Ignotus Peverell. His grave is here, and on his grave is the mark of the Deathly Hallows. The Hallows are the wand, the cloak, and the stone combined."

"But," Albus said, thinking, "but didn't the story say that they got these things from Death as if Death was an actual person? I thought they met him on a bridge or something."

"Yes," Gellert said. "But that part's made up, just to make the story better. You can't really meet Death like he's a person, obviously. I think that they were just very powerful and clever and made these objects themselves. The Death part must have come from people with wild imaginations who couldn't understand how they made them."

"Where the _hell_ have you been?" a voice demanded angrily.

Albus turned with dread and looked at Aberforth. "Walking around," he said. "This is Gellert Grindelwald, by the way; he's Mrs. Bagshot's great-nephew."

"Hello," Gellert said to Aberforth.

Aberforth looked between the two suspiciously. Then he looked directly at Albus and said, "Ariana set the house on fire."

Gellert cast Albus a confused look, but he asked no questions.

"Did you put it out?" Albus asked, embarrassed.

"Duh," Aberforth said. "But I don't know how to get rid of the damage. You'll have to do that."

"Okay, I will when I get home."

"Which would be… now?" Aberforth said coolly.

"Which would be in half an hour," Albus replied, an equal amount of coolness in his voice.

Aberforth glared at him and Albus expected him to argue further, but he turned on his heel and made his way home, which Albus and Gellert had passed just a few seconds before Aberforth appeared.

Gellert looked at Albus questioningly.

Albus sighed. "Long story."

Gellert shrugged. "Let's hear it. I'm interested in getting to know you anyway. My aunt simply loves to talk about how great a person you are; she talks about you all the time."

"I'm sure you are exaggerating."

"Nope," Gellert said and they began to walk again. "She absolutely _adores _you. She says that you're a genius and you're the 'most responsible young man in this town,'" he imitated her airy voice. He grinned. "So, where do you reckon she gets that idea from?"

Albus frowned slightly. "Well…" he began slowly, "My father died in Azkaban a few years back and my mother died just recently. I'm left taking care of my younger siblings."

Whatever Gellert had been expecting, it wasn't that. He looked taken aback.

"My sister – well, as you might have surmised – she's a bit mad. Crazy. But she was not born that way."

"What happened to her?"

For some reason, Albus did not mind telling Gellert the details. He had never even told his closest friends the truth about Ariana, but he suddenly felt like he could tell this virtual stranger. "Ariana was attacked by three Muggle teenagers when she was six. They saw her doing unintentional magic. They must have gotten scared or something because they didn't understand it, just like people used to do when they went hunting after witches hundreds of years ago. They hurt her very badly. I don't know the details and I didn't understand just how badly the attack was when it happened; I was only ten. But from what I've pieced together, I don't think that they _just_ beat her…. Since then, she just hasn't been the same. She tries to not ever do magic, but it builds up inside of her and explodes out of her. That's why she set the house on fire. But most of the time, she's harmless and sweet, but still always scared."

"I'm sorry," Gellert said, and he sounded like he meant it. "Why didn't your parents just take her to – what is it called? – St. Mungo's?"

"Neither my father nor my mother wanted her to go there. My father went after the Muggles and attacked them. Then when he was caught and was on trial, he refused to give a reason. He was assumed to be a Muggle-hater, and he was sent to Azkaban and died there, along with his secret. And then my mother died; throughout her whole life after it happened she was determined to keep her with us. She died when a lot of magic exploded out of Ariana one day when she got upset over something. So now, I have to honor what they gave their lives for and look after her."

"So, you're trapped."

"Yes."

"What would you do if you weren't?"

Albus snorted slightly. "That's the grand question, isn't it? The truth is I don't know what I would do with my life. But that's what freedom is all about, I suppose. Before this all happened, I wanted to change the world, but I was never really sure how I was going to do so, or what change I was going to make."

Gellert nodded. "I used to feel that way."

"Used to?"

"Yes. But now I know what I want to do with my life."

"And what is that?"

Gellert took a deep breath. "I want to overthrow the Statute of Secrecy."

"What?" Albus said, startled. "But that's what keeps the Muggles from trying to kill us and stuff. Ever heard of the Salem Witch Trials?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Gellert said impatiently, "but Muggles are only afraid of witches and wizards because they don't understand. You said yourself those Muggles attacked your sister because she they didn't understand."

Albus looked at him thoughtfully. Gellert's deep blue eyes were bright with inspiration.

Evidently encouraged by this, Gellert continued. "I want Muggles and Wizards like to live in harmony. Muggles die each year from things that Wizards could easily cure. And Muggles, though very much behind us, sure have invented a lot of things in the past few years. They seem to be gaining speed, as a race, and I have no doubt that some day sooner than we all think, they will be able to do things we can't. We would be helping each other. Of course, Wizards would be above Muggles, because at the current state, we can do much more and they could never equally repay us. If we saved their lives, made their lives easier – they'd love us! They wouldn't attack us if they appreciated just how great we are. We would be triumphant over them, ranked above them, but it would also be for their own good. For everyone's own good."

Albus liked the idea, as radical as it seemed. It seemed so difficult, so unrealistic, but yet, it seemed _possible_. "Utopia?" Albus asked, amused.

Gellert grinned. "Well, not quite utopia, but as close to it as we can get."

"I can't imagine both the Wizarding world and the Muggle world combining."

"There's only one world."

Albus smiled. "Your aunt has talked to me about you as well. She told me you were brilliant."

Gellert laughed loudly. "Well, I don't know about _brilliant_," he said, though he was clearly pleased with himself. "I just think a lot, that's all."

There was a slight pause between them.

"Well, I'd better be getting back," Albus said. He added sarcastically, "Otherwise Aberforth will ground me."

"Well, yes, you'd better go home then," Gellert agreed. "I'll see you around I guess, since this place is so damn small."


	3. Chapter 3

**Here be chapter three.**

**Again, I have to give a big thanks to RikkuAlaias for reviewing!**

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Albus stayed in his house for the next couple of days, performing exciting tasks such as making soup for dinner and making sure everyone's clothes were clean. One day, both Aberforth and Ariana fell asleep around one in the afternoon, which was not usual. Albus decided to take advantage of Aberforth's unconscious state and went outside without the risk of being scolded.

Without really meaning to, he arrived at Bathilda's house to find Gellert outside fixing the fence without magic, since there were too many Muggles around and he was underage in the first place so he really was not supposed to. Albus guessed that Bathilda must enforce that ridiculous rule of no magic preformed outside of school by anyone under the age of seventeen. Gellert looked sweaty and frustrated, as if he had no idea what he was doing and he had been doing it for a long time. He also had no shirt on.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?"

"Hi, Albus," Gellert said, not looking up from what he was doing. He was trying to hammer a nail into the white wood. "I'm trying to fix this because she told me to, and to do so without magic."

Albus saw several people staring at him as they walked by. "You know, the people here are really stuck up and it isn't every day a teenager is trying to fix a fence during the afternoon half-naked. I'm sure they all think you're being very improper right now."

"Well, I'm a foreigner; I'm allowed to break the rules because I'm ignorant of them."

"Well, in this country, and in this day and age –"

"Save it, Albus."

"People are staring at you."

"I don't blame them; I'd stare at myself too." He was still trying to get the nail into the wood, but he couldn't even get it started.

"You know, for someone so brilliant," Albus teased, "you'd think you would have realized that you've got the hammer facing the wrong way. Honestly."

Gellert looked at it. "You think I'm doing it the wrong way?" He turned it around. "Hey, I think you're right. This looks better." He tired it the correct way. "Yeah, this is much easier."

Albus scoffed.

"Hey, I'm not a stupid Muggle, remember? Normally, I wouldn't be doing it this way."

"How long have you been doing this?"

"I don't know…. I think for about thirty minutes."

Albus shook his head.

"You could help me, you know," Gellert said.

"How?"

"Hand me the stupid naids, or whatever they are called –"

"_Nails_."

He smiled. "English isn't my first language, okay? Just hand them over when I ask for them."

Albus crouched down next to him and took a handful of the nails in his left hand. He watched Gellert hammering pathetically badly, which amused him. In no time at all, he felt himself sweating, sitting on the hot ground. It was the beginning of July after all.

"Nail."

Albus handed one to him and Gellert began the long process of putting another one in. He felt his face flushing with the heat, but he also felt like something else was making his face turn red. He blinked and realized he hadn't been looking at the fence or nail or wood, but he was looking at Gellert's body. Mortified, he looked at the ground and didn't look up.

After what felt like an eternity, Gellert finally finished. "_Finally_," Gellert said, sounding exasperated. "I don't know why she had to insist I do this. Do you want to come into my house and get some water or something?"

"No," Albus lied. "I really should be getting back. I shouldn't have been gone this long in the first place."

Gellert rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll see you later then. Thanks for the help."

"Bye." Albus set off at a brisk pace, his mind racing. He felt alarmed. Albus had never fancied anyone; he had never found anyone attractive. The phenomenon had simply never happened to him before, all throughout school. Albus had just accepted it, gone along with it, and hadn't worried about it. Now, he was worried about. It had never, ever, crossed his mind that he could be… not straight.

But did he really find Gellert attractive? He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He didn't want to, but he knew he was almost positive he truly did. He now knew that he was almost certainly homosexual, a freak, abnormal. And he was sure Gellert was not. Of course he wasn't. Hardly _anyone_ was; the chances were extremely slim.

Albus opened his door and retreated up to his room, relieved to see that Aberforth and Ariana hadn't woken. He fell face forward onto his bed and put his pillow over his head, hating himself. He never wanted to see him again.

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Ariana was playing with her food instead of eating it.

"Ariana, eat your food," Aberforth encouraged. She looked at him blankly. "It's good, Ariana, eat it." He took another bite of what he was eating as if hoping she would mimic this.

Albus watched them. She was just like a small child. He remembered the things Gellert had said about Wizards and Muggles living in harmony together. Aberforth was right. Albus was of no real help around here. He couldn't get her to eat like Aberforth could. He wasn't helping Ariana at all. But Albus thought that Ariana would like to have known that he made sure something like this never happened to a witch or wizard again.

Albus stared ahead of him, not really seeing anything. Was it possible? Why shouldn't it be? Was it over idealistic? Yes, it was… but so what?

Ariana suddenly brought her eyebrows together as if something was bothering her. She shook her head a few times, stopped, and then her expression cleared. Albus hated looking at her. As much as he cared about her, he couldn't stand being around her, because he felt there was nothing he could ever do to help her. She was out of his and the world's reach. But if the world changed – if he changed the world for her, because of her, maybe things would be set right. Right now, what had happened to her was an injustice and it was terrible. But just maybe, he could use what happened to her as a driving force in his life and make something good come out of her tragedy. He closed his eyes for a second. His thoughts were confusing him, but he could not stop thinking.

He knew that he had thought to himself that he never wanted to see Gellert again. But it was getting harder and harder for him to resist the urge to do so. It was impossible to talk to Aberforth or Ariana. Aberforth was always mad at him for some reason or another and he knew absolutely nothing about ideas. The only real communication he could get with Ariana would be asking her questions and waiting for a reply. Occasionally, she would say that she wanted something. That was it. He was able to talk to Gellert better than he had been able to talk to anyone, even his friend Elphias. Elphias had been a good friend, he was loyal, but he was also hard to talk to a lot of the time because he didn't understand where Albus was coming from half the time.

After dinner, he set off for Gellert's house, only to run into him near the graveyard.

"Hey, Albus," Gellert said. "I haven't seen you for a while."

Albus nodded slightly and then got straight to the point. "Were you serious?"

"About what?"

"About overthrowing the Statute of Secrecy."

"Yes, of course," Gellert said slowly.

"I want to help you. I want to help you do it."

Gellert grinned. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Gellert nodded at the ground for a second. Then he looked up at Albus intently and Albus felt his heart skip a beat. "Do you want to do it for your sister?"

Albus looked downward. "Yes. Well, but not just for her. For me as well. I want to do _something_ with my life."

"Excellent," Gellert said enthusiastically. "Here sit down, we might be here a while." Gellert sat down on the grass and leaned against the graveyard fence. Albus followed suit. Once they both had gotten comfortable, Gellert continued. "Well, I think that the best way to ensure our success would be to get the Deathly Hallows. Remember we were talking about them the first day we met?"

Albus thought. "I know they're extremely powerful – the wand is said to be unbeatable, the cloak lasts forever and it never fails to conceal those under it, and the stone can bring back the dead, which no other magic can do. But how could this help us?"

"Well," Gellert said with a mischievous look in his eyes, "once someone possesses all three, it is said that person becomes the Master of Death."

Albus raised his eyebrows. "You mean the person would be _immortal_?"

"What _else_ could it mean?"

Albus still remained skeptical. "How could this help us though?"

Gellert smiled at him and Albus felt his heart thud again. "You know why. I thought you were supposed to be smart?"

Albus laughed for a second, really laughed, which was something he hadn't done in a long time. "Maybe I'm not. Explain."

"Liar," Gellert said gently. "I read what you wrote in _Transfiguration Today_, the day after I first met you. It was brilliant. You just want to hear me explain what I'm thinking out loud."

Albus smiled.

Gellert smiled back. "We're going to have people fighting against us, Albus. It's going to be dangerous. Has it ever been safe to change the world? No. People who influence the world are killed a lot. The wand will bring us power to get the job done. The cloak can be extremely useful in traveling. And if we complete the set, well, then we get the security the three combined has to offer – should the worst happen."

Albus was silent for a moment. If the stone really worked, and they really did obtain it, he would be able to bring back his father and his mother…. No more worrying about Aberforth and Ariana, and he would be able to apologize for his past negative behavior. He had refused to come home last Christmas. He was so unthankful for what he had then….

"You really _want_ to do this, right?" Gellert asked carefully. "You have to really _want_ it."

Jerked from his thinking, Albus said, "What? Oh, yeah…." He nodded. "Definitely. I was just thinking, that's all."

"Well, if we're going to make this a reality, we've got to start looking for the Hallows. Of course, we've also got to get started anyway, because there's a chance we'll never unite them – or even get any at all. We've got to start going around the world, making speeches, gaining support and stuff…. You're not shy are you?" Gellert teased.

Albus grinned. "I am not the best conversationalist, but I'm not afraid of telling people what I think."

"Good. You do seem introverted though."

"That's probably because I am."

"I'm extroverted."

"_Really_? I would have never guessed," Albus said sarcastically.

Gellert laughed. "At least you have a sense of humor. So many people just don't."


	4. Chapter 4

**Big thanks to the three people who reviewed!**

**izziexxx -- Uh oh, fangirl abuse! Hmmm, I do see your point. It was not supposed to be that though; it was only supposed to be a huge wake up call for Albus. I'm glad that you've liked everything else so far.**

**Touchstone's Ranna -- Thanks - I'm glad you like the Albus & Aberforth dialog, it was one of the areas I struggled most with.**

**RikkuAlaise -- Thanks for reviewing again! I do think that Aberforth and Ariana had a sweet brother-sister relationship, which made Ariana's death all the more tragic.**

**Now here is Chapter 4.**

For the next week, they poured over books, trying to get clues as to where the Deathly Hallows might be. They also looked for any information about Ignotus Peverell, or any Peverell for that matter. Occasionally, they would show each other what they might have found. Even when they were away from each other in their houses, if either of them found anything new, or they just wanted to discuss ideas, they would write letters to each other. Sometimes their owls hardly had any time to hunt because the correspondence would continue until dawn.

One day, Aberforth burst open Albus' door and opened his mouth furiously to say something, but before he uttered any sound at all, he caught sight of Gellert.

"Oh," Aberforth said in disgust. He looked at Albus. "Sorry, I didn't realize your boyfriend was here."

Albus felt his face turn red in anger and embarrassment. He had never felt so annoyed with his brother. "Get the hell out of here, Aberforth. I don't want to see your arse in my room again unless I specifically give you permission to come in."

"Language," Aberforth snapped before turning on his heel, storming from the doorway, and slamming the door.

Albus could not look at Gellert.

"What do you reckon he wanted?" Gellert asked, seemingly unbothered by Aberforth's complete hatred toward him, or by Aberforth calling him Albus' 'boyfriend.'

Albus shook his head. "I have no idea, and I don't care," he said bitterly.

There was a moment of silence, and it was an uncomfortable silence for Albus.

"I think I might have found some more evidence that Peverell was one of the brothers," Gellert said, bringing a book toward Albus. "Right here," he pointed with his finger at a passage, "it says that Ignotus Peverell, who moved here two centuries before, had two brothers. Older brothers, which means he would be the one who possessed the Invisibility Cloak."

Sometimes Albus really doubted that the Deathly Hallows existed at all, but whenever they found something like this (though it was a small shred of evidence), it really inspired him to believe. "Excellent," he muttered. He put a piece of parchment on the page to mark the spot.

Suddenly, a loud bang went off downstairs, which was followed by a shout. Albus jumped up so quickly everything went black for a moment. He hurried downstairs, and Gellert followed wordlessly.

Albus found that the kitchen table had been cracked in two. Ariana was in the corner of the kitchen in a fetal position, rocking back and forth. Albus couldn't imagine what Gellert must have been thinking in that moment. He had never seen Ariana before because she normally hid from him when he came over.

Aberforth was trying to calm her down. She was crying loudly. Albus pointed his wand at the table and muttered, "_Reparo_." The pieces clanked into place.

"Shh, Ariana, it's okay," Aberforth was saying. "I'm here; nothing is going to happen to you."

It did not appear as if Ariana heard him at all; she was crying too loudly.

To Albus' slight alarm, Gellert stepped forward and crouched down next to her. Aberforth looked at him in astonishment. Gellert simply waved his wand and made yellow and blue flowers appear. Ariana quieted instantly and looked at the flowers. Gellert handed them out for her to take. It took her a moment, but then she slowly, cautiously, took them from him and held them close to her. She smiled slightly.

Albus suddenly liked Gellert a million times more in that moment.

Gellert slowly backed away on the floor and then stood. He walked over to Albus, smiling.

"That was brilliant," Albus whispered.

"Better, Ariana?" Aberforth asked her. She smiled up at him, stood up, and carried the flowers away to her room. Aberforth, however, was not happy. He rounded on Gellert once Ariana had left.

"Don't think this has made me like you any," Aberforth snapped at him.

"Aberforth, _what_ exactly is your problem?" Albus demanded, his eyes ablaze.

"You both make me sick," Aberforth said. "I think I like you even less now, Albus, which I didn't think was possible until _he_ started coming around."

"_Why_ do you hate him?" Albus snapped. "_Why_?"

"Mother didn't want anyone to know about Ariana! This isn't his place!"

"I'm not going to shut myself up away from other people, Aberforth!"

"Why couldn't you just be happy to be with us?"

"Because Ariana's mad and you can't read, that's why!" Albus was now shouting. "Because it's impossible for me to have a discussion with either of you!"

"Oh yeah?" Aberforth said, his face turning red now from Albus' comment that he couldn't read. "Well, at least I'm not a faggot."

"What did you call me," Albus snarled.

"I called you _both_ bloody fag –"

"We're not faggots, you –"

"Oh, _please_!" Aberforth shouted. "You're both bloody queers, and you're a jerk, Albus, and you're a psycho, _Grindelwald_." He stormed off upstairs before Albus could shout back at him and slammed the door.

Absolutely livid, Albus turned to Gellert. "Can you believe –?" he began, but stopped because he saw that Gellert was not at all outraged. Instead, it looked like he was enjoying himself. He was smiling.

Albus blushed. "What?"

Gellert laughed slightly. "I really like you when you're angry."

Albus sighed and shook his head. "Let's get out of here."

Before Gellert could agree, a thunder clap sounded in the distance.

Albus groaned. "Damn it. Now we're stuck in here."

Gellert looked at him incredulously. "Why?"

"Did you not just hear that thunder?"

"_So_?" Gellert replied exasperatedly. "What's wrong with getting caught out in a rain storm?"

"We're going to get struck by lightning."

Gellert looked back at him from the door, his eyes twinkling in amusement. He looked around the house for a moment. "Always the optimist, Albus. Well, suit yourself, then," he said smirking. Then he went out the door, and Albus could hear rain pattering down on the dirt outside. Gellert did not close the door, because he knew Albus would follow. And so he did.

They walked out of the town into some nearby meadows. They were both soaking wet.

"This is madness," Albus insisted.

"Why?" Gellert said. "It's just rain. And anyway, the air is as clean as it ever will be right now. Why would you want to be locked up away from something so pure?" He added, "Rain cleans the air because it weighs down all the pollen and dust and stuff." He stopped walking and turned to face Albus. "You do believe that I'm right about Muggles being under us and both Wizards and Muggles can live in harmony under those conditions, right?"

"Well, we won't know if you're completely right until it's done, will we?" Albus replied carefully. "All I know is… right now… the world could be a better place, for both peoples. So even if you _are_ wrong, which I don't think you are, it's worth a shot. Nothing's ever going to get better if we don't try things out."

Gellert grinned. There was a slight moment of silence. Then he took a step closer. "Are you?" he asked.

"Am I what?" Albus asked, feeling his heart begin to race. He was usually not that close.

"Are you what your brother called you?"

"Am I a jerk?"

Gellert was grinning mischievously. Albus was feeling very flushed now.

"I don't know, Gellert, are you a psycho?"

"No. But I am the other thing he called me." He was watching Albus carefully, curiously.

"What other thing?"

Gellert laughed. "You're killing me here, Albus. Fine, I'll just come right out and say it, since I think I know your answer as well. I _am_ gay. Now, are _you_?"

Albus swallowed, hardly believing what was happening. "Gay as in…"

"Homosexual. A 'faggot.' A queer. You knew exactly what I meant…. Though yes, I am relatively happy too," he added, sounding amused.

"I –" Albus noted his voice was coarse, "I really am not sure."

Gellert looked even more amused, and as if he was trying not to laugh. "Do you think I should help you determine whether you are or not?"

Albus was feeling highly colored now and his speech was more and more incoherent. "I – well, I _think_ I probably am."

"You're such a liar. You know you are."

"I had no idea until you showed up," Albus mumbled.

Gellert chuckled again, and he got even closer. Before Albus was even aware of what they were doing, they were kissing. Albus felt numb. A loud clap of thunder broke them apart. Albus did not know what to say, and Gellert apparently did not either. Neither of them had any idea who made the first move.

"What? You, Gellert, are speechless?"

"You're right, I am."

There was a moment of silence again.

"Well, what now?"

Gellert looked at Albus incredulously. "What do you mean 'what now?'! Now we get down as low as we can on the ground so we don't get hit by lightning, that's what." He grabbed Albus' arm and pulled him down to the ground with him.

"Honestly, Gellert, you're crazy."

"That's why you like me."

They both lied down on the ground on their backs and closed their eyes, letting the rain drench them further. Albus rested his head slightly on Gellert's shoulder. The rain was just so peaceful, and the thunder was getting distant, and the air was warm. They both unintentionally fell asleep.

Albus woke up with a slight crick in his neck. He didn't remember where he was for a moment, but then he felt Gellert breathe. He sat up, feeling wide awake at once.

Gellert obviously felt the pressure of Albus' head leave his shoulder. He opened his eyes and sat up as well. He put his right hand to his head. "Damn," he muttered. "I think I'm allergic to this damn grass or something. My sinuses are all puffy."

Albus' groggy mind suddenly remembered that there was more to the world than him and Gellert. "_Shit_," he said, "what time is it? How long did we sleep?" He looked around him. It was getting dark. "Damn it, damn it, damn it. I should've been back a long time ago."

"Well, the damage has already been done," Gellert said. "So what's your hurry?"

Albus swallowed, his heart racing again. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"I… I don't know…. For kissing you; for falling asleep on your shoulder."

"You're really uncomfortable when it comes to sexuality, aren't you?"

"What?" Albus' said, embarrassed. He hated how frank Gellert was sometimes.

"You heard me."

"Give me a break. I didn't even know I was gay until you turned up like two weeks ago."

Gellert grinned. "True. But you really shouldn't be so self conscious about it. I mean, it happens to everyone."

"Yeah, but not everyone's gay," he mumbled.

Gellert shrugged. "So? Okay, if it wasn't men you liked, then you'd have the exact same feelings you have toward me, only they would be toward a girl. Would you be any more comfortable then?"

"Not really."

He went up close to Albus. "Then just relax." He kissed him again. Eventually, they both lied down on the grass again, still kissing.

They did this for a good fifteen minutes, until Albus insisted that he had to go home.

"All right," Gellert said quietly. He kissed his forehead. "I'll walk with you."

Albus dreaded finally arriving.


	5. Chapter 5

**Only one review for chapter four? Where is the love?**

**Touchstone's Ranna -- Thanks, glad you liked it. Unfortunately, you're right, Gellert can't stay sweet.**

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Aberforth was, predictably, absolutely furious. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you?" he shouted at Albus. "Your place is here, with your _family_. We had no idea where you _went_ or _when_ you were coming home."

"Shut it," Gellert snapped at him. Albus had never heard Gellert take that tone before.

"I had to make dinner," Aberforth ranted on, "and _you're_ not going to get _any_thing."

Albus went upstairs to his bedroom with Gellert's hand on his shoulder. Gellert slammed the door. Albus sat down on his bed and put his face in his hands.

"Can I borrow your owl?" Gellert asked. The angry tone that had been in his voice moments before was now gone without a trace.

Albus looked up. "Yes…."

"Where's your quill and ink?"

Albus got up and took the two things out of his drawer. "Right here." He handed the quill and ink bottle to Gellert. "What are you writing?"

"I'm telling my aunt I'm going to sleep over here."

Albus stared at him. "What –?"

"I don't mean we're going to have sex, Albus! God. I just don't want to go back there."

Albus blushed. "Won't she find that… suspicious?"

Gellert shrugged, scribbling his note. "No, I don't think so. I could tell her Merlin was living up on the moon, and there's a good chance she'd believe it. And even if she does find it a bit queer – no pun intended – who cares?"

Albus could not understand Gellert's complete confidence sometimes. If anyone in his family had ever found out he was gay, he would have been mortified. He sat back down on the bed and watched as Gellert finished his note but didn't send it yet. Instead, he turned to Albus.

"We can go out to eat, you know. I mean, there aren't many places here, but I'm sure we could find something."

Albus shook his head. "There's no where here. And the one market place we have here is closed now. Can you Apparate?"

Gellert scrunched his nose up. "I hate Apparating. I can't stand the sensation of it."

Albus sighed. "Well, I probably shouldn't be going far from home anyway."

There was a brief silence. Gellert looked at the note he had in his hand and then crumpled it up. "We can go and beg Bathilda for food."

He smiled slightly. "Fine with me."

---------------------

When they got back, it was late. Even though they had slept for hours in the field, they were still both tired. Gellert pointed his wand at Albus' bed and made it larger.

Albus blushed, for what he felt like was the millionth time that day. "Gellert…"

"What?" he said innocently. Albus was not fooled with his innocent tone. "I'm not sleeping on the hard floor." He plopped on the right side of the bed as if he owned it and got under the covers.

Albus didn't move.

"Well, I don't know why I made this bed larger if you're not going to get in it," Gellert said, looking up at the ceiling.

His heart hammering, he lied down on the bed next to Gellert. When Gellert didn't move, he looked sideways at him. He was still looking up at the ceiling.

"You have an ugly ceiling, Albus," he remarked.

"I have an ugly room."

Gellert looked at around the room he was in. Then he laughed. "True. I never noticed before. I guess that's because it's so covered up with all your books and stuff. Just makes it look messy. Or maybe I never noticed because I was too busy looking at you." He moved closer to Albus and kissed the side of his head.

Albus knew he normally would have rolled his eyes and find that last sentence extremely lame, but since it was directed at him, it didn't feel so. He hoped that Ariana didn't make anything explode or set the house on fire at that moment. "You must be crazy," he said, "or partially blind."

"Why would you say that?" Gellert said, the usual tone of amusement in his voice.

"Because no one's ever shown any interest in me. Well," he thought, correcting himself, "only one psycho girl at school. But she was interested in everything that was male anyway."

Gellert laughed. "A _girl_ had a crush on you? You have to give me the details."

Albus smiled. "She was supposedly the prettiest girl at Hogwarts, so all the guys said. But my friends and I disliked her, because she was shallow. Well, she kissed me one night, in a deserted corridor."

Gellert laughed again, more loudly this time. "What did you do?"

"I felt disgusted. I pushed her away and felt bile rise up in my throat. She got all mad and asked me what the hell was wrong with me. All I could do was to tell her I had almost thrown up when she kissed me." He laughed. "She yelled at me and insulted me and then I ran off as quickly as I could with no reply."

"I would have paid a hundred galleons to see that."

Albus shook his head. "I'm so stupid sometimes. I should have known, right then, that I was gay. But I didn't. I figured she had almost made me vomit because I hated her."

"It doesn't matter," Gellert said. "I didn't know I was until about a year ago when I started to fancy this one guy at Durmstrang. But he wasn't gay. I mean, he had a girlfriend. There was no chance of it. But it was useful because it did make me realize."

"I wish I wasn't."

"I know you do. I did too, for quite some time. Up until very recently, actually."

"How recently?"

Gellert grinned and looked at him. "Until I met you. I knew you probably weren't gay – that the chances were slim to none, but then when the evidence started coming that you might be…."

Albus smiled back. "You're such a liar."

"No, I'm not! Really, I am glad that I can be with you. You're smart. You know what you're talking about. You have _ideas_. And you agree with me about the Statute of Secrecy. I've never met anyone like you before, man or woman."

Albus did not know what to say, so he just kissed him gently.

------------------

Things went peaceful for the next couple of days until Albus brought up Squibs.

"Where do you think Squibs would be ranked?"

Gellert frowned thoughtfully. "Squibs… hmm… I guess they would have to be ranked underneath wizards, but above Muggles."

"Above Muggles?" Albus asked. "Why?"

"Well, because they still have magic blood," Gellert said.

Albus was silent for a moment, feeling a twinge of worry. "But… but I thought that the whole idea was that those who can do magic would be ranked above, and those who cannot would be ranked below. I didn't think that there would be middle ground."

"Why did you ask then?" Gellert said, unable to keep the trace of irritancy out of his voice.

"I don't know, just talking," Albus said. He paused. "Where would Muggle-borns go then?"

"I think they'd have the same status as Squibs."

Albus was feeling quite uncomfortable now. "But… but this ranking is based off race, not the ability to help others."

Gellert's slight smile had gone from his gleeful face. "Look, Muggle-borns are raised by Muggles for the first eleven years of their life. It's just not the same as someone who was raised by someone magical. And Squibs were raised by someone magical, even though they are unfortunate enough to not possess it themselves."

Albus was doubtful. "I don't know…."

Gellert looked angry now. "Look, Albus, that's the way it should be; that's the right way. I don't understand how you can possibly think that Muggle-borns would have the same status as people raised by wizards and witches."

"But we're supposed to be making the ranking on people's ability, so I don't understand how –"

"Muggle-borns just got lucky," Gellert snapped. "Squibs just got _un_lucky. If you can't see that – if you don't agree with me on this – then maybe you aren't as smart as everyone thinks you are."

"Why are you angry at me?" Albus asked, starting to feel bad. "I'm just talking –"

"You're just being an idiot!" Gellert snapped, cutting him off again. He slammed a book closed and threw it across the room so it landed on their pile of books that they had looked over for references to the Deathly Hallows.

Albus did not like where this was going at all. Gellert had never been angry with him before. He always looked at Albus with a smile on his face, at least a slight one. He knew he was being very foolish and acting more and more in love, but he wanted to keep Gellert smiling. It made him happy to see Gellert happy.

"Okay, Gellert," Albus said quietly. "You are the right one – I'm sorry. I just want to make sure we do everything perfectly."

Gellert relaxed. "Thanks. Sorry I got mad at you. I just feel really passionate about this, you know?"

"Yeah…." Albus said uncertainly. He did not want to make Gellert angry again.

"This will all be for the Muggles' own good."

Albus swallowed. "For the greater good."

"Exactly."


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it's taken me so long to add chapter six; my life has been kind of crazy at the moment. Thanks to the following people who reviewed the last chapter:**

**RikkuAlaise -- Thanks very much! I honestly pictured Gellert to be kind and charming in the beginning, but then easily angered and manipulative later on. Otherwise, I don't think Albus would would have ever had any initial interest in him.**

**Touchstone's Ranna -- Thanks for the review! You're not the only one I've heard say that they never imagined Albus as a submissive person. However, I always pictured him to be much more innocent and naive than Gellert, and therefore easily dominated by someone like him.**

**I'd also like to thanks the people who have added this story to their Story Alert subscription, even though you haven't made any reviews yet.**

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Weeks passed. Aberforth was becoming steadily more and more impatient with Gellert's constant presence, Albus was ignoring Aberforth's anger and, indeed, he was ignoring Aberforth himself more and more. Gellert kept getting more and more obsessed with finding the Deathly Hallows, and Albus was having a hard time trying to really concentrate about them. Ariana was becoming fonder of Gellert and more comfortable around him. Lastly, Bathilda Bagshot was remaining completely ignorant of what was going on despite the fact that Gellert now only went over to her house to brush his teeth and eat breakfast. And Albus went with Gellert every time. It was an easy way to get free breakfast for Aberforth and Ariana, because she always insisted he take some over for them as well.

"What are you boys up to over there?" Bathilda asked while they three ate breakfast at her round kitchen table. "You both look tired, how much sleeping are you doing each night?"

Albus stuffed his mouth full of scrambled eggs so he wouldn't have to reply.

"Well, last night we discussed astronomy and how many planets and moons we think there are out there in our galaxy," Gellert said enthusiastically. "Mostly we just Mercury, because it's a planet that's so close but it's so hard to study because of the glare of the sun."

Sometimes it really scared Albus how well Gellert could lie. It was not so much that his stories were brilliant; it was how smoothly he told them. Perhaps this was because he based his lies off truths. Yes, he and Gellert had discussed the planets and moons – but they only spent about half of their time doing that. Then they had kissed one another in bed on and off for the rest of the night.

"Oh that's lovely," Bathilda said ignorantly. Albus stuffed more food into his mouth to keep himself from sniggering or smiling. "I knew that you to would get along well because you both are so smart!" Albus thought he was going to choke with his mouth full, trying not to burst out laughing. "Oh that reminds me," Bathilda said, standing up rather suddenly. "I wanted to give you some breakfast to take home to Ariana and Aberforth, Albus. Gellert, would you come help me?"

Gellert looked at her quizzically. "Why?"

"Because I want you to _help_ me," she said, making it obvious she wanted to have a quick whisper with Gellert privately.

"Okay," Gellert said slowly. He rolled his eyes at Albus and then stood up and went to the counter where Bathilda began to put scrambled eggs and bacon into a box.

Albus turned his head slightly and saw out of the corner of his eye Bathilda whisper something into Gellert's ear. Gellert looked slightly annoyed. Albus heard Bathilda breathe, "I'm sorry; I just remembered today!"

Bathilda walked back to the table and put the box on the table next to Albus. "There you go, Albus, dear."

"Thanks, Mrs. Bagshot," Albus said. "You really don't have to do this every morning."

"I know that," Bathilda said, looking charmed. "I want to." She then went into a long speech of what a nice young man he was, as she did every morning when Albus told her she did not have to give him extra food.

As Albus and Gellert were going back to his house, Albus asked, "What did your aunt want?"

"I'll tell you later," Gellert replied.

Aberforth and Ariana were both sitting at the kitchen table when they got in. Albus used his wand to get plates out, put food on them, and put the plates on the table.

"I'm sick of scrambled eggs and bacon," Aberforth said. "But at least it's better than what you can make."

"You're welcome," Albus said disdainfully. "Was Ariana okay?"

"She has been, not that you care."

Albus and Gellert went back to Albus' room and shut the door with a charm so that no one could enter without knocking and their permission to enter.

"Your brother's a real arse to you, you know that?"

Albus sighed. "Yes, I know. I'm used to it." He shook his head. "Do you want to keep looking for some more potential Deathly Hallows references?"

"Yep," Gellert said, getting a book from the pile of un-examined books. "Hey, I was thinking, when we start to go traveling, making speeches, where do you want to go first?"

"I think we should start in London, and go from major city to major city in Britain first." Albus smiled. "Then we can go to Germany."

"Sounds good. But after that?"

Albus thought. "I think America. The United States."

"How come?"

"Because ideas can catch on there like wildfire. Then maybe we could come back to Europe and see how our ideas have caught on and then move on to another country around here."

"Okay." Seemingly satisfied with the length of the plan, Gellert opened the book and began to scan for keywords concerning the Deathly Hallows. Albus did the same, but only for a while.

Albus looked up at Gellert reading. "Hey, Gellert?"

"Mm?"

"I've been wondering for a while… why were you expelled from Durmstrang?"

Gellert's expression instantly darkened. Albus regretted bringing it up at all. He did not want to cause Gellert any discomfort or pain. But then Gellert spoke, as if he had been dying to tell somebody. "It was stupid, really. I mean, _I_ acted really stupid, but the reason they expelled me was stupid too," he rambled quickly.

Albus crawled over to him on the floor so that he was right beside him. "What happened?"

Gellert took in a deep breath. "There was this stupid idiot at my school. He was a Quidditch playing moron and everyone just loved him – thought he was something special. I hated him. He was always mean to me from the get-go. He wouldn't bully be exactly, but I could tell he didn't like me. He would disagree with everything I ever said. He would act all mopey when we were paired up in class. He just gave me that look, you know? That look that lets you know, 'I think you're a loser.'"

Albus nodded, although he thought that Gellert was sounding dramatic and illogical.

"Well, one day I overheard him making fun of me. He was saying that I was a know-it-all and arrogant. Well, I couldn't take that – it made me so angry. I let myself be known to him and I said, 'At least I'm not an unintelligent idiot like you who will never amount to anything.' He said, 'What, you wanna go, genius?' and he pulled out his wand. Then he hit me with a spell that made my stomach hurt so badly I doubled over for a full thirty seconds while he and his friends just laughed."

Albus put his hand on his.

Gellert shook his head and continued darkly, "I swear I saw red, just like the saying goes. I got so _angry_, not only at him but at the people who were laughing with him. I just wanted to _hurt_ them, make them suffer so I could laugh at them back. Just make them feel as bad as I felt."

"That's natural," Albus said. "You were being physically hurt and you were being humiliated."

"Yeah, I know," Gellert sighed. "But what I did was stupid. Once the curse had ended, they were all too busy laughing to realize I was pointing my wand at him. I used the Cruciatus Curse on him."

Albus unconsciously removed his hand from Gellert's.

"I know," Gellert moaned. "It was so stupid. I cannot believe that curse came into my head so _quickly_ – I hadn't even made a conscious decision of what I was _doing_. My anger just consumed me." Gellert put one hand over his forehead. "After I was done performing it on him, I did it to one of his stupid little friends too who was just standing there, frozen. The others had already run off and they got a professor, so it didn't last for long."

Albus remembered reading about what it felt like to have the Cruciatus Curse put on you. He had read that it felt like white, hot knives were piercing every part of your body, and that the person it was being performed on was always screaming. Even though he felt his stomach churn at the thought of Gellert doing this, and even though he had the strong urge to get as far away from Gellert as possible, he ignored these feelings and put one arm around his shoulders. "It's all right," he said quietly. "No one's perfect."

Gellert removed his hand from his face and sighed again. "Yeah, I guess. Well anyway, they expelled me for that. That and other things. Stupid little things that had been that I had done over the years. They were itching to get me out of there, and they finally found a golden reason."

"You're lucky you didn't end up in prison," Albus said. He kissed him on the side of his head. He was sure Gellert had learned his lesson. He had to have had.

"I only didn't go because I agreed to leave the country," Gellert said glumly. Then he smiled at Albus. "But I'm glad I did. I'm glad this all happened."

---------------

When all of Albus' duties as being the head of the family were over for the day, he felt relieved. He went back to his room after he did the dishes and charmed the door. It was late, much later than usual. They had a late dinner because Albus and Gellert were so enthusiastic over a passage in a book that looked almost like it was certain it was referencing the Deathly Hallows. Albus looked up at Gellert. He was in bed already, the sheets coming up to his low chest. His chest was bare. Blinking, Albus looked down at the foot of the bed and saw not only his shirt, but his pants and underwear as well.

"Gellert –!"

Gellert laughed. "You didn't tell me it was your birthday today, Albus. I had no time to get you anything."

"How did you know –?"

"My aunt told me this morning." He smiled at the look of disbelief on Albus' face. "I told you I would tell you later, didn't I? Did you not expect me to? Or did you forget? Anyway, I can't believe you didn't tell me. How was I supposed to get anything for you?"

"You didn't have to get anything for me."

"Nonsense. I _have_ to get you something…." He shrugged. "I figured that this would do."

"How on earth did she know?"

Gellert shrugged. "She remembers everyone's birthdays. I bet your mother mentioned it to her one day and she wrote it down some where. It's just one of the weird, obsessive compulsive things she does. She writes down everyone's birthday. I'll show you the calendar tomorrow morning when we're over there, if you want."

Feeling as if he were about to pass out, Albus said, "Aberforth and Ariana just went to bed. They're in this house."

"They're not going to hear anything," Gellert said. "Aberforth sleeps like the dead, he's on the opposite side of the house, and even if Ariana did hear anything she wouldn't be bothered by it because she wouldn't understand."

"That's a terrible thing to say, Gellert. She was raped by those bastards, you know."

He frowned for a moment. "She won't hear anything, Albus, I promise." He then grinned. "Well, unless you really do scream that loud."

Breathing hard, Albus now flushed. "I might," he muttered, running his fingers through his hair. Words were failing him again, something only Gellert made happen. "We can't – this isn't right – I mean, we're young; you're even younger than me!"

"Yeah, but if I had been one day older, I'd be only a school year younger than you, remember? And," he added with a smirk, "I promise that if you get pregnant, I would be a good father."

Albus was not in a humorous mood. "But – but – I –"

"I love you, Albus," Gellert said quietly.

Albus stopped his useless stuttering. "What?" he asked in equal quietness. Gellert had never said it before to him, and he had never said it to him either.

"I love you," Gellert repeated.

For a moment, Albus forgot what he was supposed to say back. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course I mean it."

Albus said nothing for a moment. "I –"

"I know you do," Gellert cut across him. "You don't have to say it."

Albus smiled a shaky smile. He felt paralyzed. He wanted so badly to surrender, but he was also afraid and uncomfortable. He felt like he would die of embarrassment. After a minute or two, he undressed as well, blew out all the candles except one, and got in bed with Gellert.

Then Ariana set the house on fire. There was a loud bang downstairs a second before their lips met. They froze, breathing heavily, waiting. They heard footsteps thunder down the stairs. Then they heard Aberforth yell, "Albus, Ariana set the couch on fire!"

Albus felt like crying. He whimpered and began to climb out of bed to throw on his clothes. Before he could get dressed, Gellert had sprung up. He went to the door and opened it.

"Gellert, you're –!"

Gellert ignored him and bellowed down the stairs, "IS THE FIRE OUT?"

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then Albus heard Aberforth say, "Yeah."

"IS ARIANA HURT?"

"… No… she's just lying on the floor with her eyes closed now."

"THEN WHAT THE HELL DO YOU NEED ALBUS FOR?" Gellert slammed he door and charmed it back. He turned sharply and got roughly back into bed. He looked at Albus in disbelief.

Albus laughed at the annoyed look on Gellert's face.

The annoyed look melted away. "Well, I'm glad you found that amusing." He allowed himself a small laugh.

They heard Aberforth climb the stairs and shut his door.

Gellert smiled at Albus. "Let's pretend that never happened, shall we?"


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter was probably the hardest thing I've ever written! Which is one of the reasons why it's taken me nineteen days to update.**

**Thanks to all the people who reviewed the last chapter...**

**Phoenix From The Ashes -- Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!**

**RikkuAlaise -- Thanks! I'm glad you and a couple other people found that funny, because I had intented it to be but I wasn't sure if people would find it so. And there will be more Hallow stuff to come.**

**LyreXu -- Thank you, I'm glad you like the interactions between Albus and Gellert; it's the area I work the hardest on.**

**Moonglaze -- Thanks, I'm happy you like Gellert's characterization. He's hard to write about because we know very little about him except that deep down he's quite evil. Personally I picture him as someone who's outwardly friendly, but very manipulative.**

**ProtegoNox -- Heehee, Albus was afraid that Gellert was going to go downstairs naked too. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Also, thanks to all those who added this story to their Story Alerts!**

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Albus just smiled back, no longer nearly as nervous.

Gellert kissed him deeply for a long moment. When they broke apart, he said, "Well, at least you're not as nervous as you were now." He climbed on top of him and kissed him again.

When there was break in their second kiss, Albus began to speak. "Gellert, I –"

"This isn't the best time for conversations, Albus." He kissed his neck. "Honestly," he muttered with slight exasperation, and he resumed to kissing his neck some more. Gellert started pushing himself against him and Albus bit his bottom lip slightly

Then Gellert entwined the fingers of his left hand with Albus' right hand, and Albus felt the feeling of pure love rise inside him. He unconsciously spread his legs a bit. Gellert moaned slightly. Albus couldn't help but be slightly amused by the fact he was the first to do so.

Gellert kissed his collar bone. He then kissed his chest, and with each kiss he was going lower.

"Gellert –"

"Shush!"

Albus obeyed Gellert's request for silence again. Why was it Gellert had such control over him? He then felt Gellert reach his destination. He bit his lip again, hard. He bit down on is lip so hard that it began to bleed after a few seconds. After a while he couldn't just keep biting his lip because he wasn't getting enough air. He gasped for breath and moaned softly. He felt like thrusting his hips toward Gellert but even the thought of it made him feel like he would die of embarrassment. Soon after thinking he never possibly could, he had to, he moaned more loudly.

Both panting, Gellert got back on top of him again and began to kiss his neck, pushing himself and him again. Gellert looked up at Albus and touched his lip with his finger.

Albus saw blood on Gellert's finger when he withdrew it. He hadn't even realized it was bleeding.

Gellert shook his head. "And I thought that I was doing something wrong for a while there." He looked at him pointedly. "Albus, don't be embarrassed. You can groan."

Albus swallowed with difficulty and found he had nothing to say.

"Finally, quiet. Now roll over and do what I tell you to."

He did what he was told. Then he closed his eyes. How he didn't die from what happened next was beyond him, but somehow he managed not to have a heart attack. It hurt, but he found that he didn't care. Gellert went in a little further. He moaned. Tears formed in Albus' eyes as he squeezed his eyes shut as much as possible. Finally he was all the way in. Gellert moaned again. He began to move further out and then in again, slowly.

Albus groaned deeply. Gellert was moving around cautiously as if he were trying to find something. Then there was something he hit that made Albus yelp slightly the first time. Gellert smiled at this. After a while, Gellert sped up, and both their breathing was getting louder. Albus had no idea it would feel this good.

Gellert said Albus' name a couple of times. Albus did the same, except by the end he was louder than Gellert, and he said more than just his name, though he was not aware.

They both lied down on their backs, feeling exhausted. Gellert and snuggled Albus close, bringing him in his arms.

Albus gladly obliged. He felt tears forming in his eyes as pure, uncomplicated love filled him like it had when their fingers interlocked. Before he could stop himself, the tears were falling from his eyes.

Gellert looked at him. "Albus? Albus, why are you crying?" he asked breathlessly.

"I love you."

Gellert brought him close again. "I know. Just rest now. Go to sleep." He kissed his forehead.

Albus fell asleep in his arms, feeling helpless.

Albus woke up, feeling exceptionally groggy. He looked at Gellert's golden hair and his face. He was still asleep. Albus smiled to himself. As he lay there, he wondered why this was considered a sin by some people. He loved him, they made each other happy, and therefore he could not understand why this would ever be considered bad. He stayed awake, not moving because he did not want to disturb Gellert. After thirty minutes or so, Gellert woke as well. He smiled at Albus and ran his fingers through his hair. Albus just smiled softly back, loving him.

"Did I give you a good birthday present?"

It took a moment for him to find his voice. "Yes, you could say that."

"Good. Let's just hope Aberforth didn't hear."

"I don't think so," Albus said. "I mean, we were pretty quiet. You were quieter than I thought you were going to be."

Gellert chuckled. "I _was_ pretty quiet, interestingly. But you, my dear, were _not_."

Albus smiled, thinking Gellert was joking. "Oh yeah, right."

"I'm _serious_, Albus. Couldn't you hear yourself?"

Albus stopped grinning. "Well, I thought – I thought I heard myself saying your name a couple of times."

"You did." Gellert grinned, teasing him. "But then you started to yell out other things."

Albus felt himself pale. "What things?"

Gellert's smile was now rueful. "Just a few interesting words."

Albus felt himself turn red. "You're lying."

Gellert kissed his nose. "No, I'm not."

Albus looked at him suspiciously.

"_I'm not_!" Gellert insisted.

Albus put one hand over his face. "Great," he said, feeling extremely embarrassed and stupid. "And you said that I was loud?"

"Well, you weren't _screaming_, but you certainly were yelling."

"… Shit." That was all he could say.

Gellert smiled gently. "I rather enjoyed it. Who cares if Aberforth knows?"

Albus lowered his hand. He couldn't help but smile back at Gellert. "Well, if it made you happy, I guess it is a good thing. But what does that imply that I was louder?"

Gellert's smile was rueful again. "It means you're more excitable, that's what it means."

When Albus and Gellert went to go to Bathilda's house, Aberforth was blocking the door. Ariana was in bed. Apparently, she had gotten up sometime during the night and climbed into her bed to sleep.

"Yes?" Gellert asked Aberforth cheerfully.

"While I am glad you both have fully embraced your queerness," Aberforth said coolly, "I am not up for hearing what I heard last night ever again. And I can't believe you did what you did with Ariana in the house. Maybe she didn't hear you two this time, but that doesn't mean she won't next time. _I_ certainly did." He looked at his brother disgustedly. "'Oh Gellert, yes, harder!'"

Albus looked up at the ceiling, wishing he was invisible, or at least back in his room.

Aberforth continued, "And _you_," he snapped at Gellert, "I absolutely _despise _you. You suck, you know that?"

"Oh, that's a real creative insult," Albus said sarcastically. He looked sideways at Gellert. Gellert was looking at Aberforth with an interested expression.

"You're right," Gellert said. "I do."

Albus smiled at the floor.

"That's not what I meant," Aberforth snapped.

"Albus sucks too."

"_That's not what I meant_!" Aberforth shouted, looking revolted.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Gellert said. "Maybe you should just keep your fat mouth shut then."

Aberforth's face instantly darkened. "Too bad you weren't put to death instead of just being expelled."

Gellert had his wand out in his hand before Albus even saw him reach for it. Gellert opened his mouth in a furious snarl as Aberforth was still reaching for his own –

Albus grabbed his hand and pulled the wand downward at the floor. "Gellert, stop, come on," he said. "He's just an idiotic bastard. But let him be." He really couldn't understand why Gellert was so angry at that. It was quite a negative comment, but it was a weak insult.

Though Gellert did not try to push Albus away nor raise his wand again, he continued to stare at Aberforth with a livid look on his face.

Aberforth stared at Albus. "I'm the bastard?" he shouted at him. "Look who was the first one to draw their wand!" He stormed up the staircase, thumping his feet as loudly as he could on each step.

Albus frowned at Gellert. "You really shouldn't have done that," he said. "I mean, he is my brother."

Gellert yanked his hand from Albus' and went through the door, looking furious. Albus trailed him meekly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Here is finally chapter 8. I would have had this up days ago, but I was having trouble adding it as a document... It kept saying that I was trying to add an empty document when I wasn't. Hopefully, that won't happen again!**

**Thanks to:**

**ProtegoNox - I know, I feel bad for Albus too. :( Poor guy.**

**Moonglaze - Yep, Gellert definitely is controlling. And luckily, there is a bit of brotherly love between Albus and Aberforth in this chapter. :)**

**MatoakaWilde - Hehe, that's okay you're reviewing backwards. I'm glad you liked the conversation about Squibs and Muggleborns, and how Aberforth was (understandably) annoyed.**

**Also, thanks to all those who added this story to their Story Alerts and to Beatrix007 for translating the first seven chapters into Chinese!**

* * *

"Gellert?" Albus asked, still looking down at the dirty old book he had in his hands.

"Yeah?" Gellert replied.

"Who did you get your wand from?" Albus looked up at him when he did not immediately reply.

Gellert was looking at him with a curious expression on his face. "I got it from a wand maker named Gregorovitch right before I first went off to Durmstrang... Why?"

"Because according to this source the Elder wand last went to a German wand-maker. But who knows how old or new this source is. It could be a completely different person."

Gellert jumped off the floor and joined Albus on the bed. "Where does it say that?" he demanded roughly.

"It says right here," Albus pointed to a paragraph. "'The terrible Deathstick repeated its history when, during the beginning of the month, a German man killed the wand's owner and took it for himself at a bar filled with Wizards. The previous owner claimed he had an unbeatable wand, and all the others laughed, all except the foul maker of wands. Alas, it is now proven to me that power is undoubtedly man's greatest temptation.'"

"No idea when it was published?"

"There's no date or even a title. Just a nickname for the author."

Gellert looked at the author's nickname. "_Paenulātus_?" he read. "That's Latin, isn't it? What does that mean?"

Albus swallowed. "It means _wearing a cloak_. Or _the _cloak," he said softly. "Latin doesn't have definite articles."

Gellert grinned widely. He looked rather insane. "This is it!" he said excitedly. "This is it – the Elder wand _definitely_ belonged to Gregorovitch and I'm guessing he still has it since he isn't dead!"

"Gellert," Albus said, trying to keep reason, "Gellert, this could be from two hundred years ago. Or more."

"The pages aren't _that_ yellow," Gellert said stubbornly. "And this book looks like it was designed to look old. I'm telling you Gregorovitch had it, and he still does."

Recognizing defeat, Albus said, "All right. Gregorovitch has the wand. Now where is he?"

Gellert's smile faded. He ran his fingers through his hair, looking madder than ever. "I don't know. He stopped selling wands quite recently. He just left; his shop closed, and no one has gotten any word where he went to. At least, no one has said. When he left everyone wondered why and where he went. People questioned it, and I never heard anyone giving an answer…." His eyes widened. "He's probably hiding because he doesn't want anyone to know he has it."

"And do you think that _Paenulātus_ is the one with the cloak?"

"Of course," Gellert said without hesitation. "It's too much of a coincidence. Why else would they call themselves that?"

Albus could find no answer.

Gellert was now looking at him affectionately. "I owe you a million for finding that, Albus."

"You don't owe me anything," Albus said quietly.

* * *

When Albus woke up the next day, Gellert was still asleep beside him. Not wanting to disturb him, he got up quietly. It was already past ten-thirty, and he knew that it was past time for him to get up and attempt making breakfast. As he tried to make scrambled eggs without burning them, Aberforth entered the kitchen and greeted him with a nasty look.

"We already ate," he said sourly.

"You did? What?"

"I went over to Bagshot's house and begged for food."

Albus frowned and put the scrambled eggs on a plate and pouring milk for himself. "You really shouldn't have done that." He sat down at the kitchen table.

Aberforth sat on the opposite side of the table, facing him. "Why?"

"Because it's rude."

Albus saw Aberforth trying to come up with a retort, but he was unsuccessful.

"What did you say to Mrs. Bagshot?"

"I told her that you and her great-nephew were too busy playing with each other to feed me and Ariana."

"You _what_?"

"You heard me; don't make me repeat myself."

"What did… what did she say?"

Unable to not smile, Aberforth grinned and said, "She asked me what game you two were playing."

Albus laughed weakly. "What did you say?" he asked, almost fearing the answer.

Aberforth shrugged. "Just said you were dueling." There was a silence between them and Albus was finally able to eat with his mouth closed. "You got up really late today," Aberforth said, breaking the silence.

"I know. I was tired."

"I guess that's what you get for shagging Goldilocks up there all night long," he sneered.

"I know you didn't hear anything last night, Aberforth, don't give me that. We put a charm on the whole room to make sure of that."

"If Mother ever knew you were doing that…"

"Yeah, well, she's dead," Albus said bitterly.

Aberforth said nothing for a moment. "Why do you like him? He's creepy."

Albus could tell by the change in his tone that Aberforth wasn't trying to annoy or insult him. He was really asking a genuine question, so he gave him a genuine answer. "I love him, Aberforth."

"_Why_ though?"

"I don't know. I just do. Why does anybody fall in love? There is no real satisfactory answer."

Aberforth was silent for a moment. "I don't think he really loves you back."

"Well, you can't make that judgment," Albus said coolly. "You don't know him. You hate him. You ridicule him. You're prejudice against him."

Aberforth did not reply. Albus was unnerved by his silence. What if he was right?

_No_, he told himself. _He's not right. What does he know anyway_?

"Why do you say that?" Albus finally asked, unable to keep the question inside.

Aberforth shrugged. "I see the way you two look at each other every now and then. It's absolutely _nau_seating and I hope that I don't ever get that stupid look on my face that you get when you look at him. But Grindelwald doesn't get that look on his face when he looks at you. Not the way you do."

Albus tried to show that he wasn't bothered by this. "He was the first to say 'I love you.' I said it second."

"Yeah?" Aberforth said, sounding unimpressed. "When did he say that lovely line?"

"On my birthday, if you must know."

Aberforth raised an eyebrow slightly. "During the morning, afternoon, evening, when?"

"I know what you're thinking," Albus said sharply, "and that's not why he said it."

"Ah, so he did say it right before you two got raunchy."

"Would you stop being so vulgar!" Albus snapped. He looked down at his plate and half of the scrambled eggs remained. However, he got up agitatedly and threw them away roughly.

"I'm just trying to look out for you, that's all," Aberforth said quietly.

Albus ignored him, too agitated to reply. He went upstairs back to his bedroom.

Gellert woke when he lied back down on the bed next to him. He smiled and ran his fingers through Albus' hair. Albus bit his lip.

"What is it?" Gellert asked, noticing he was nervous. "What's wrong?"

"You told me that you loved me when you were trying to persuade me to make love to you."

"I was there. I remember. So?"

"_So_, did you say it just so you would get me to agree?"

"Albus, don't be insane," Gellert sighed. "Of course, I knew it was the only way you would agree to do it, but honestly. How evil do you think I am?"

Albus looked away. That was not the response he wanted. "When I told you that I loved you right afterward, you didn't say it back."

Gellert sighed. "Albus, come on. Where is this paranoia coming from? I love you, all right? I love you, I love you, I love you. Now stop worrying. If you must worry, worry about where we're going to find Gregorovitch."

Albus said nothing.

"I'm going to go to Bathilda's house. I'm supposed to be living there, after all. I'll see you in a while," Gellert told him. Albus just nodded shortly.

Not ten minutes after Gellert had left, Albus heard his bedroom door creak open. He looked up from a book he was reading on his bed and saw Ariana standing there, looking at him.

"What is it, Ariana?" he asked, half-lazily, not expecting a real answer.

She did nothing for a moment except look at him, but then she spoke. "Do you hate me?"

He stared at her. It wasn't often Ariana talked and acted her age, but it did happen once and while. Usually she was talking to Aberforth though. She had never talked to him like that before.

"Of course I don't hate you," he said finally. "I'm your older brother. What would make you think that?"

Again, it took her a moment to respond. "You don't ever smile at me."

Albus sighed. He was beginning to wish that he could start this day over again and just not get out from under the covers. "I'm sorry I made you think I hate you, Ariana. I don't hate you. I just hate that our parents are gone."

"I killed them," Ariana said in a whisper. "All my fault."

"It wasn't your fault," Albus said, shocked at how sensitive she was to what had happened. "Don't you ever think it was your fault, because it _wasn't_. You did nothing wrong. You _never_ have."

Ariana was quiet for a while, biting her lip. Then she simply said, "Okay," and walked away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Here is chapter 9! Thanks to those who reviewed:**

**ReineMauvaise -- Thanks very much :) I'm glad you like it.**

**Emmarrgh -- :blushes: Thanks! I would love it if you would write your own Albus/Gellert fanfic though. There simply aren't enough out there! And yes, the dialogue. Truth be told, I have no idea how to write British dialogue from the 1890s. :P For example, I just recently learned that the word "gay" didn't refer to homosexuality until the 1920s, and I've already used the word in the story. Oh well! I do try a little however.**

**Moonglaze -- I know, it's a shame. I keep going back and forth in my mind whether Gellert did really love Albus or not though. Sometimes I think he did in a way, but he was just too obsessed with power to really let it all in, if that makes sense. He did refuse to tell Voldemort anything about the Elder Wand and the fact Albus had it last during DH, after all.**

**ReMeDy10 -- Thank you :) I'm glad you like the pace of the story.**

**Also, thanks to all those who added this story to their Story Alerts and all those who added this to their Favorite Stories list. :)**

* * *

"The letter from Hogwarts arrived today with the list of all the books I'll need next year."

"Okay."

Aberforth breathed in deeply and then said, "When are we going to go get them?"

Albus looked up at his brother suspiciously. Aberforth was staring at him blankly as Albus sat on the floor, his back against the couch, reading. All summer long Aberforth had been fighting tooth and nail over whether or not he would go back to Hogwarts, and now he was asking when they could go get his school supplies. "What have you done?" he asked him.

Aberforth scowled. "I haven't done anything. I'm just asking a simple question."

"You could get them today, if you wish."

"Okay." Silence. "What's that book you're reading called?"

"The Origin of Species."

"What's it about?"

"The origin of species," Albus smirked.

"Ha ha," Aberforth said sarcastically. "I reckoned so. But what does that mean?"

"It's just about where animals and every other living thing came from and how."

"So where did every living thing come from and how?"

"Well, it's complicated. The author says that all living things came from a common ancestor and then species came from generations and generations of traits and from a thing he calls natural selection. It's complicated. It's hard to explain."

"So animals and stuff… change their form over time?" Aberforth scrunched up his nose. "Why would they do that?"

"Survival of the fittest. If birds with strong beaks are able to crack open nuts and live whereas birds with weak beaks die, the birds with the stronger beaks live on and pass on that trait to their offspring while the weak beaked birds die off and don't pass on their traits."

"That's stupid," Aberforth said. "When was it written?"

"Exactly forty years ago."

"Is the person who thought this rubbish up a Muggle or a Wizard?"

"A Muggle."

Aberforth snorted. "What Muggles won't come up with."

"You shouldn't be prejudice, Aberforth."

"Hark who's talking," Aberforth said glumly. "I hear what you two talk about sometimes. You want to overcome Muggles."

"Not _overcome_ –"

"You want to rule over them!"

"But for their own good. Not to hurt them or treat them badly."

"Do you remember what happened when Ancient Rome decided they were going to take over Spain?"

Albus stared at him. "Since when do you know history?"

"_Do_ you?"

"A lot of things happened. Tell me exactly what you're referring to."

"The people living in Spain started killing each other once they knew their freedom was going to be taken away. Kids would steal a sword and murder their whole family. Half of the people who were supposed to become slaves would kill themselves and each other before they ever got to Rome."

"That was different though," Albus said. "Those people were going into slavery –"

"Doesn't matter! People don't _like_ having their freedom taken away. They don't _like_ being told what's best for them. Maybe you both do know what's best for them, and you could help them and all, but I can guarantee you they still would not like being beneath you and the rest of wizard-kind."

"It's different," Albus insisted. "And how do you know this?"

"I took Muggle Studies after I completely failed Divination," Aberforth said glumly. "We did a chapter on Ancient Rome and I liked it the most out of all the other chapters. After that we moved onto boring stuff about their recent inventions and a little bit of additional history."

Albus looked down at the book and closed it. Aberforth eyed it with distaste.

"I suppose since you're reading it you don't believe in God or heaven?"

"Just because I read about something doesn't mean I believe it."

"Do you believe in God then? Or this origin of species nonsense?"

"Perhaps it is a bit of both," Albus said quietly. Then he got up and stretched.

"Where is – erm – Gellert?" Aberforth said the name with difficulty.

"Why are you suddenly calling him his proper first name and why are you suddenly so willing to go back to school?"

Aberforth scowled again. "Because I guess… I guess you can take care of things. I guess you know what you're doing…. And I guess that… _he's_ okay. But just okay."

Albus smiled slightly at him. "He's at Bathilda's house. He'll be back soon. Then we can go to Diagon Alley."

"What about Ariana though? Someone has to watch her."

Albus rolled his eyes at himself. Of course – Ariana. He had been looking forward to going to Diagon Alley and getting out of the neighborhood for a while. He sighed. "I guess you'll be going alone. You're old enough anyway." He put his hands in the pockets of his clothes.

Aberforth must have known that he had really wanted to go, because he said, "You and – and Gellert can go. I imagine you two in Flourish and Blotts would be like two little kids in a candy store. I'll just give you the list."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you," Albus said, feeling completely baffled by his brother's new attitude toward him. "You don't need new robes, do you? You certainly haven't grown an inch since you were twelve."

"That's hysterical, Albus, you're a real comedian. But no, I think they still fit me fine."

* * *

"This place is even more crowded than I thought it would be," Gellert said as he tried to maneuver his way around a group of what looked like first years buying their school supplies. "Stupid little kids, standing around in the middle of the –"

"Gellert, stop being so negative. We're here, out of Godric's Hollow, aren't we?"

"True," Gellert grinned. "Do you think the people here would be objectionable to two men holding hands?"

A girl who looked a couple of years younger than them heard them and turned her head to stare at Gellert, who noticed and laughed.

"Let's not find out."

"Spoilsport," Gellert sighed.

"I am."

Gellert walked into Flourish and Blotts and Albus followed behind him.

"Are you here for your school books?" a man who worked there asked.

"I'm not a student," Gellert said in a cool, offended tone, even though he was still the age to be one. "My friend and I are just here to buy his younger brother's books."

"My apologies," the man said. "You do look young for your age then. You don't look a day over sixteen."

"Well, I'm nineteen and I've been working at the Ministry of Magic for nearly two years now," Gellert lied smoothly. Albus chewed on his lip so he wouldn't laugh. "My name's Gellert Grindelwald. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

"I cannot say I have," the man said.

Albus saw Gellert's eyebrows rise. "No? My dear man, you really should read the paper more often. I'm quoted on almost every Ministry issue."

The man scowled at him. "What are you here for?" he asked in a monotone.

Albus handed the man the list and he went to one of his large bookshelves to get the books.

"I was wondering, sir, what your blood is," Gellert said in a conversational way.

The man turned to stare at him. So did Albus. Gellert just looked back at him politely. The man snorted and turned back to the shelf. "Why the hell would you ask me a question like that?" he asked.

"Oh, just wondering. I ask everybody I meet that. Just kind of a fun fact, you know. It's interesting to see where the groups usually end up – you know, when it comes to their – ah – careers."

The man returned, slammed the stack of books back on the counter, and gave the price for them all. Albus began counting the money, but he could barely count because he was too busy thinking. He heard the man say, "I'm a half-blood, as most everyone else is. My mother was a Muggle and my father a Wizard."

"Interesting," Gellert replied. "May I ask which of the two had a greater influence in your life?"

"No, you may not. Just hurry up and get out of here…. How long does it take you to count?" he snapped at Albus.

"Don't use that tone with him," Gellert snapped back. The man just glared at him.

Albus gave the coins to him in almost an apologetic way. The man did not receive the message from him. He took the money roughly and did not look at either of them.

Gellert took half of the books and Albus took the other half and the list. They walked out of the store.

"Let's sit down," Albus said. "There are some benches not too far from here."

When they arrived at the benches, they both sat and placed the books aside.

"What the hell was that all for?" Albus asked not two seconds after they got settled.

"What?" Gellert asked. "I was only making conversation."

"You were insulting him."

Gellert shrugged. "He's the one making a big deal out of it. It's interesting to see where people end up when you take their blood into account. I have this theory that people with less pure blood end up in lower jobs. I'm curious to see if I'm right."

Albus said nothing for a long while. Then he said, "Gellert, why do you have to be like this?"

"What?"

"Why do you have to do things like this? You scare me when you talk like that. I'm starting to feel like you're not the person I thought you were. I thought you wanted to make a positive impact on the world. Change the world for the better. Obtain the Deathly Hallows and use their power for others."

"I do, Albus."

"Promise me you will never treat anyone else like you treated that man."

Gellert stared at him. "Why? I'm just doing a scientific survey."

"You're turning every good idea you ever had into an excuse to sprout racism."

"Stop being so damn dramatic. I thought that you loved me?"

"I do love you. I will always love you. But I'm afraid you are going down a path that I can't follow – whether I love you or not."

There was now fire in Gellert's eyes. "And if you really loved me, you would follow me blindly down whatever path I take us."

"If you really loved _me_, you wouldn't ever ask me to do that! If you really loved me you would want me to know what path I'm going down!"

"You are rambling, Albus. Stop. You know that I love you."

"I used to."

"Where is all this doubt coming from?"

"Aberforth said–"

"_Aberforth_?" Gellert snarled. "Of course. That little bastard."

"Don't call him that," Albus snapped.

Gellert glared at him and then laughed, but it was not a mirthful laugh. "I didn't call him that. You did."


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to those who reviewed:**

**ReMeDy10 -- Star Wars? Uh oh, I know exactly the scene you're referring to too. I totally did go George Lucas on everyone, sorry about that! :headdesk: I thought that saying was somewhat common though? :)**

**ReineMauvaise -- Yep, I figured Albus would have to begin to see the light sometime before Ariana died, at least just a little bit. He's a smart guy, but he really was blinded.**

**ProtegoNox -- I know I like this pairing because it's sad. I guess we both just like drama? :P And nice guesses as to why Aberforth is being so nice. **

**McNugget -- Thank you for the review! Dumbledore is my favorite character as well. It's interesting how even though everyone here has read the same Harry Potter books, we all have slightly different ideas of how the characters would be.**

**Moonglaze -- Yes, Gellert definitely can be quite the egotistical jerk. There's no way someone as smart as Albus wouldn't have begun to question him!**

**Chromde -- Thank you! I am trying to keep this as canon as possible, and unfortunately we don't have a tremendous amount of information about these two.**

**Also, thanks to all those who added this to their story alerts and/or added to their favorite story list. :)**

**Now here is chapter 10...**

* * *

Albus did not talk to Gellert for the rest of the day. When they got back to Godric's Hollow, Gellert went to his aunt's house. Albus was sure Aberforth had taken notice of Gellert's absence, but Aberforth said nothing about it, and Albus was glad he didn't. He did not want to ruin Aberforth's new found trust in his ability to make the right decisions by telling him Gellert was doing racist things such as questioning complete strangers what their blood status was.

He sat in his room for a while, and then quickly realized there wasn't anything he wanted to do except sleep. He felt exhausted, and with Gellert not there to keep him awake, he lay down on his bed and looked up at the ceiling for a while. He hadn't been sleeping well for the past few days.

_Guilty conscience_? a small voice in the back of his mind said. He ignored it and fell asleep.

* * *

"Albus, where's Ariana?" he heard his father ask.

His ten-year-old self lifted his head to look at his father, but he didn't reply. He sat motionless on his bed.

"You were supposed to be watching her. Did she not come inside with you?"

"I can't remember," he said, now standing. A small ripple of fear ran through him as he tried to remember when he last saw her. "The last I remember is she was out by the garden, behind the hedges."

His father left his room and Albus trailed him as he went outside to look for her. Albus expected her to be right nearby where he had last seen her, but she wasn't there. They looked throughout the garden for her, around the goat pen, and behind the house. She was no where.

"Maybe she went back in the house –" Albus began to suggest, but his father ignored him and hurried back home with Albus almost running to keep up.

His mother, Kendra, by now knew something had happened. As soon as they entered through the front door, she asked, looking pale, "What has happened?"

His father didn't reply. His mother pressed on, "Percival, tell me!"

"Ariana's missing," he said shortly, as if he thought saying these words shortly would make them less frightening. "You stay here, both of you. Don't tell Aberforth. I'm going to look for her."

It was dinner time, but neither of them ate. When Aberforth came in asking about dinner, Kendra said that it would be delayed because their father was busy. It was an hour before he returned with Ariana, but at first Albus didn't even recognize her. He thought he had brought home someone else's little girl that had gotten lost.

Ariana somehow looked smaller, and she was cowering. Her nose was bloody, and one of her eyes was closed shut tightly and black. Her clothes looked like they were thrown on carelessly and they were filthy. Her hair was extremely messy and tangled.

Albus and Aberforth were both thrown out of the room before they could take in the scene further. They both waited anxiously in Albus' room and they didn't dare speculate what had happened to her.

Eventually Percival came in, looking more agitated than Albus had ever seen him. "Aberforth, out!" he barked. Aberforth quickly obeyed, leaving Albus alone with his father.

"How could you forget about her?" Percival exploded. "Why didn't you watch her as you should have? You are nearly eleven years old, damn it!"

"I'm sorry!" Albus said, now crying. He hated crying in front of anyone, especially his father. "I did – I did not _mean_ to I was just – just – distracted by my own th-thoughts and –"

"Stop crying! You have to grow up! Get your head out of the clouds and keep an eye on what is right in front of you! _Damn_ it!"

He wanted to reply – to apologize, but he was distracted by a strange tapping noise. His father didn't seem to hear it. What was going on?

Albus opened his eyes. The tapping was someone tapping their fingers on his desk. He was eighteen-years-old again, and Gellert was sitting at his desk with Aberforth's new books in front of him, frowning.

Albus closed his eyes quickly so he could ponder his dream for a minute without Gellert interrupting his thoughts. His father had not really yelled at him like that in his room eight years ago. Everything else was true. It had been a painful dream, because in it his father shouted at him just as Albus felt he should have. He couldn't deny it was his fault that Ariana was attacked, because he was supposed to be watching her when it happened. Wanting to put this out of his mind, he opened his eyes, sat up, and realized with a jolt of surprise it was night time.

Gellert looked over at him. "Is this seriously what fifth years are given to read at Hogwarts?" he said. "This is ridiculous; it's no wonder why parents worry that their children are stupid. How is he supposed to pass the O.W.L.s with this?"

"I thought you were angry with me," Albus said stiffly.

Gellert shrugged. "I figured you were sorry by now. You are sorry, correct?"

Albus sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but Gellert cut him off.

"Yes, I knew you would be. No need to apologize. Let's just forget about it."

Albus closed his mouth. Gellert had incorrectly interpreted his sigh, thinking he was about to launch into a long-winded apology. He was not sorry for what he said. However, he very much liked the idea of just forgetting about what had happened in Flourish and Blotts. The problem was he was not sure if he could.

"Aberforth told me you've been sleeping for a long time. You must be hungry."

"I'm not," he said. He knew his stomach was empty and he would feel nauseous the next morning if he didn't eat something, but the thought of eating anything was extremely unappetizing.

"Suit yourself," Gellert yawned. He got up, blew out the candle, and got into bed with Albus as if nothing had happened between them that afternoon. Albus got up to go to the bathroom and on his way there he thought to himself that he could not believe he had only known Gellert for two months.

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**A/N - :cough: Two months should be a red flag :cough:**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here it is, chapter 11, which is also the LAST chapter. I just know some of you are thinking, 'It's about time she put this story out of it's misery!' :D The red flag bit was supposed to hint toward the end of the story since Albus and Gellert only spent two months together at Godric's Hollow, but I don't know if it was a very good hint, lol. I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever; I've been busy with graduation. **

**Thanks to all who reviewed:**

**ReMeDy10 -- I'm glad you liked the dream part - I had never intended to add it in the story, but the idea came to me out of nowhere!**

**Moonglaze -- Thanks for the review. :) Life really has been unfair to Albus, hasn't it? And unfortunately, the worst is to come in this chapter. **

**ReineMauvaise -- Gellert definitely is conceited, it's time Albus stood up to him and told him, "No"!**

**ProtegoNox -- I know, poor Albus. :( It's a shame Gellert isn't the person he pretends to be. **

**Chromde -- Thanks for the review! So many people feel so bad for Albus that we could all form a club, I think. :(**

**And thanks to all those who added this to their Story Alerts/Favorite Story List. Also, thanks in advance to anyone who reviews this chapter.**

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_"Two months of insanity, of cruel dreams, and neglect of the only two members of my family left to me."  
Albus Dumbledore, DH_

The next few days at Godric's Hollow were uneventful and boring. Gellert was still trying to find out where Gregorovitch had gone, and Albus kept his mouth tightly closed whenever he went into long speeches about how wonderful it was going to be once they found him and stole the Elder wand from him. Albus just knew Gellert was not going to find Gregorovitch, and even if he did and successfully steal his wand from him, that it would be a normal wand worth only two Galleons and ten Sickles (which was currently the average price of a wand at Ollivanders).

The most eventful thing that happened during those next few days was when Gellert and Aberforth began to argue, which was now beginning to be commonplace. Gellert sometimes snapped some particularly nasty things to Aberforth, and Albus had been forced to reprimand Gellert, which was something he hated doing because he was not very successful at it. He was still in love with him after all, and as soon as Gellert's eyes met his, he would falter. He sometimes thought that Gellert was aware of this and using it to his advantage.

One day, Gellert was talking about their plans in the living room. He was sitting on the ugly floor with Albus beside him. Albus was not really listening to what he was saying, just watching him and listening to his voice.

"We should really start traveling soon," Gellert said. "I think that we've found out everything we can about Peverell, and Gregorovitch certainly isn't anywhere around here. I think we should start shortly after Aberforth goes off to school. And it'll be good for Ariana to get out of this blasted house anyway."

"Sure," Albus said mindlessly.

Gellert smiled at him, knowing he had not taken in a word he just said. "We would have to leave after my birthday on the second of September though," he said. "I can't wait to see you try to give me something better than what I gave you."

"Did you say that you're going to travel?" a voice asked.

Albus and Gellert looked up. Aberforth was standing at the entrance of the living room, looking at them.

"Yes, after you go off to school," Gellert said coolly.

"What about Ariana?" Aberforth asked, looking flabbergasted.

"She'll be coming with us, moron," Gellert said lightly. "However, if you prefer, we can just leave her here."

"Like hell she will," Aberforth snapped, looking pale.

"And why not?" Gellert growled. "Are you going to do something about it?"

"Gellert," Albus started.

"You're not taking Ariana all over the place!" Aberforth shouted. "You can't do that to her! She'll be terrified! Albus – Albus tell him – tell him he can't do this!"

Albus opened his mouth, but Gellert cut across him.

"Like hell you're going to tell your brother what to say or think," Gellert snapped, standing up.

Now getting truly alarmed, Albus stood up as well. "Gellert, calm down."

Gellert rounded on him, looking very angry. Albus winced. "So you're _agreeing_ with him? What about everything we talked about?" He was shouting now as well.

"I didn't say I was agreeing with him –"

"You're taking _his_ side?" Aberforth shouted. "You can't do this, Albus! You can't! Ariana needs someone here with her! If you must leave this place, let me stay then!"

"You're going back to school, Aberforth."

"Then you cannot leave! I was just beginning to trust you and your ability to make good judgments, and now you're doing _this_?"

"You," Gellert shouted at him, "you're a stupid, foolish little boy for trying to stand in his way and mine! Don't you understand, you damn idiot? Once we change the world, Ariana won't _have_ to hide anymore! This is for the greater good, you little –" He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Aberforth.

"Gellert, stop!" Albus shouted. "Gellert, please, please don't –"

Gellert ignored him. "Do you understand _now_?" he snarled at Aberforth. When no reply came, he snapped, "_Do you_? Are you going to cooperate?"

Aberforth turned and began to walk away. Thinking it was over and he had won, Gellert lowered his wand. But Aberforth whipped around with his wand and hit Gellert with a spell that broke his nose, making blood pour out.

"_No_ –!" Albus shouted.

Gellert hit Aberforth with another spell as well, and though Albus did not hear it because it was nonverbal, he knew was it was when his brother began to scream.

Albus knew he could not run away or close and eyes this time. He got his wand out as well and started to deflect their spells, trying to stop the sudden madness that had broken out. He did not know how long this went on because the situation felt surreal. It could have gone on for thirty seconds or ten minutes.

It turned out that all that was necessary to stop Gellert and Aberforth was a loud, heavy thump.

All three of them turned their heads and saw Ariana, crumpled lifelessly on the floor.

For a full thirty seconds, no one said or did anything. Then Aberforth ran over to her body and put his hand on her throat to check for a pulse. He pointed his wand at her and shouted shakily, "_Rennervate_!" Nothing happened.

Gellert was the first to speak. "Albus…. Albus…. I – I'm so sorry." He took his hand. Albus pulled away from him, feeling terrified. Gellert had scared him in the past, yes, but never to _anything_ near this degree.

Gellert sighed. "Albus, I'm so sorry this had to happen." He threw a dirty look at Aberforth, who was still pointing his wand and staring numbly at the floor where Ariana lay as if this was entirely his fault. "Come on, Albus. We're going to have to get out of here now. I'm really sorry. But if we leave now, we will be able to ensure that… that Ariana was the first to die for the greater good."

Albus only stared at him. He did not feel anger or disgust. He just felt nothing except fear.

"Come on, Albus. I love you. You said you loved me. Now come with me."

Albus' eyes filled with tears, but he still said nothing for a long while. He suddenly realized how much power Gellert had over him, in every aspect of his life. Gellert was in control of his mind, of his relationships with other people (namely his brother and freshly gone sister), and his happiness. He had been controlling him for over two months now, and love had made such a fool out of him.

Gellert was waiting, looking extremely pale. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve because blood was still gushing from his nose. He seemed to have forgotten how to fix it. All the anger that had been radiating from him mere minutes ago was now gone, gone as if it had never been there and it never would be.

At last, Albus said, "I do love you…. I love you more than I can say…. But I cannot go with you." Tears fell from his eyes.

The expression on Gellert's face was unreadable. He looked neither sad nor angry. Just blank. He opened the front and and walked out, not bothering to close it behind him. And he was gone. Forever.

* * *

Albus' nose was broken and bleeding, but he didn't really care. He had his wand with him, but he felt like he deserved to have a broken nose and not be able to mend it. He was walking by a dozen people sitting in rows facing a coffin. Everyone was staring at either him or Aberforth in alarm. Some people, including Bathilda Bagshot, had begun to stand up, but froze midair to stare at Albus as he hurried by. He hoped that none of them got up and followed him, especially Elphias. He did, of course, because that's the kind of friend he was.

"Albus, hey! Slow down!"

Albus stopped. He was walking out toward the meadows where Gellert and he once had walked in a rainstorm.

Elphias caught up with him, panting slightly. "What the hell was that all about?" he asked breathlessly.

Albus didn't reply.

"Here, let me fix that for you –"

"I don't want you to mend my nose," he said, waving Elphias' wand away.

"Why?" Elphias asked.

"Because –" he said. _I deserve it_, he finished in his mind.

Elphias said nothing for a moment. They just stood there. The pain that was welling up in Albus demanded motion. He began to walk again. Elphias followed.

"Albus, what the hell happened this summer while I was away?"

"Nothing."

"_Something_ happened between you and Aberforth. Why did he break your nose? What did he mean by 'you deserve a broken nose, too' right before he punched you? And why did he say that it was your fault Ariana died?"

"Because it is."

Though Albus didn't look at him, he could picture the stunned look on Elphias' face.

"Albus, don't be ridiculous. Of course it's not your fault. You are guiltless. She was ill for years. Seriously ill people die, Albus. Anyway, why on earth is he basing this on?"

Albus sat down rather suddenly in the grass as if he just realized that walking wasn't going to really get him anywhere different. He put his face in his hands. "It is my fault. You wouldn't understand."

Elphias crouched down next to him. "You're not being honest with me. Tell me. What happened this summer?"

"I cannot."

"Why not? I thought I was your friend – your best friend."

"All I want from my best friend is to be left alone."

Elphias hesitated. Then he stood up. "If you aren't back soon, I'm going to come back here looking for you."

"Fine," Albus said faintly, not looking at him. He heard Elphias walk away.

Albus tried to remember him and Elphias at Hogwarts, wandering around the corridors and spending the weekends together with a couple other friends of theirs, without a care in the world. It felt like he was remembering someone else's life. He felt like he barely even recognized Elphias. So much had happened since then, and he knew he could never be the same person that he was.

* * *

He had never understood the phrase _where your treasure is, there will your heart be also_. He only told the people who owned the cemetery to put it on his mother's grave because he knew that she loved that saying. Since he felt like his heart had been wrenched out and was missing, he now understood.


End file.
